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Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogMon, 30 Mar 2015 12:40:46 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Sierra: Ghostbustershttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/04/28/sierra-ghostbusters/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/04/28/sierra-ghostbusters/#commentsMon, 28 Apr 2008 11:00:50 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://www.ibabuzz.com/videogames/2008/04/28/sierra-ghostbusters/
With Grand Theft Auto IV a mere 18 hours away, there’s been a lot of talk about video games and film. Mostly, it’s the fear that GTAIV will somehow ruin Iron Man in the box office. It apparently happened with… Continue Reading →]]>
With Grand Theft Auto IV a mere 18 hours away, there's been a lot of talk about video games and film. Mostly, it's the fear that GTAIV will somehow ruinIron Man in the box office.
It apparently happened with Halo 3 and Ben Stiller's The Heartbreak Kid last fall. And there's a similar trepidation this week along with a worry that this may be a trend.
Sooner or later, we'll be seeing "Are video games killing Hollywood?" headlines. But that kind of thinking makes it appear like this is a zero-sum game, which it isn't. Both mediums can co-exist and can even help each other. For proof, look no further than the upcoming Ghostbusters game.
Call this the unofficial sequel to Ghostbusters 2. In this title, players take on the role of the fifth ghostbuster. (Sorry, I don't consider Rick Moranis part of the crew though he did his best against Vigo the Carpathian.)
The game is set in the early 1990s and as the newest member, players will notice some refinements to the equipment. First, the proton pack now has a little slime shooter attachment. Second, the traps are cordless and have unlimited storage.Third, there's also a little neutron blast and dark energy shot available. All these tools have a primary and secondary fires.
Terminal Reality showed us two different Ghostbusters demos. One was a tech demonstration showing a replica of the New York Public Library (one of the sites in the film). Studio Director John O'Keefe and President Mark Randel showed their in-house Infernal Engine's ability to show shadows and light and also re-create the physical weight of objects.
Just for fun, they dropped some bodies showing how it splintered the wood and knocked over objects. Next, they tossed some cars among the books and showed off the sticky strength of the slime gun. Apparently, it can attach things as heavy as a Buick to the ceiling. Want to create a Buick mobile? They attached another car to the same car. It was pretty impressive.
The second part of the walkthrough was an actual level. This involved the return of the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man. The game looked good and there was some funny moments as players had to blast at the super-sized candy man and fight ghosts.
The trapping moments were interesting because it made me remember how ghostbusters had to wrangle these creatures, hiding in books or lamps or fans. Most of the time, it was useful to just destroy everything in sight to limit the hiding spaces. Once players have a ghost, it takes a bit of time to get it into the trap. They might have to knock it into a wall or the floor to daze it before pulling it into a trap. To make it easier, another ghostbuster can join in and help. Players also have to heal each other if they get hurt Gears of War style.
Elsewhere in the level, players had to use the PKE meter to locate the supernatural creatures hiding in the office building. Again, seeing the device brought back memories, but it was more interesting to see how Terminal Reality used it like a homing device to spot a hidden ghost in the area. In addition, to the phantoms, players will also be fighting beasties so it doesn't look like the game will get too repetitive.
To top everything off, the new Ghostbusters video game is getting a huge hand from the original cast. Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd are penning the script so that means there's a good chance the story will be decent. In addition, the original actors will be lending their likeness and voices to the project. Also, a lot of the music from game comes from recordings that didn't make it to the original films.
With this much backing, this will probably be the closest thing fans will get to a Ghostbusters III in years. Fans can expect to see this game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/04/28/sierra-ghostbusters/feed/4GhostBusters March (775)GhostBusters March favs (4)